Where the past meets the present, Crimson Tide football history takes center stage in preseason encounter

DiLoreto Era gets going again against state powerhouses in tri-scrimmage at Catholic Memorial last Saturday

By Joe McConnell

For Everett High School football fans, it was like going back in time last Saturday afternoon (Aug. 23) at Catholic Memorial in West Roxbury. Even though it was only the team’s first scrimmage of the year, there was its new (old) coach – Rob DiLoreto – directing the plays from the sidelines, while on the other side of the field, there was legendary coach and DiLoreto’s mentor John DiBiaso, the architect of the Tide’s most recent dynastic run from 1996 to 2017, observing his Knights in action against his former club. It’s hard to believe that DiBiaso is starting his eighth season as the Catholic Conference school’s head coach.

DiLoreto has a great deal of respect for his former boss. They have much in common, starting with the fact that they are both Everett natives, who graduated from the high school separated by only eight years – John in 1976 and Rob in 1984. Rob was a member of John’s Super Bowl-winning 2017 staff as a volunteer offensive assistant. He became the program’s offensive coordinator the following year, before leaving, only to return as its head coach during the COVID season in 2020, where everything was upside down, and football was played in the spring of 2021 with no playoffs. He followed up that adventure with two straight playoff appearances, before unceremoniously stepping down as head coach after the 2022 season. But now, Rob is back in charge ready to pick up where he left off as a playoff coach.

DiLoreto’s first challenge upon his return was going up against an Everett coaching legend, albeit in only a preseason scrimmage that also featured a third school – Central Catholic – from Lawrence. But it was still memorable for him.

“Coach DiBiaso is in a class by himself,” Rob said after last Saturday’s scrimmage. “He’s simply a legend and the greatest of all time. I have the utmost respect for Coach Dibs, who is a good friend and true mentor to me.

“In the one short season that I was privileged to serve as a volunteer assistant for him, I learned a tremendous amount.  I saw first-hand how knowledgeable, caring, kind and devoted he was to the Everett program. What Coach Dibs accomplished in Everett as a coach, teacher, administrator, mentor, parent and friend is unmatched. He is a legend in every sense of the word,” added DiLoreto.

But now, it’s time to talk about the scrimmage, and DiLoreto was quite impressed with his team’s performance. “They played hard against Catholic Memorial and Central Catholic. Both teams were more advanced than us, but our players steadily improved as the scrimmage progressed,” he said. “Our offense scored a late touchdown on a long pass, and specifically throughout the game, Jamauri Dulin had some nice catches, while Joao Barreiros ran the ball very hard out of the backfield.”

DiLoreto was also pleased with the defensive effort. “The defense worked hard throughout the scrimmage,” the veteran coach said. “Armani Negron and Tyler Freni, in particular, stood out at linebacker. Both players provided solid run support and also solid pass coverage.”

But it’s still way too early to finalize any starting lineups on both sides of the ball. “We are still evaluating all positions as we complete our preseason camp (later today – Friday, Aug. 29 – with another scrimmage, this time against host St. John’s Prep in Danvers at 5 p.m.),” said DiLoreto.

The Everett football coach will be looking to improve upon the team’s overall performance in all three phases of the game against the Prep. “We need to play fast, physical and disciplined football if we are going to compete against (the Eagles),” DiLoreto said.

After the Prep Scrimmage, the Tide will return home to get ready for the regular season opener at Everett Memorial Stadium against Greater Boston League rival Medford on Friday night, Sept. 5, starting at 6 p.m. It will officially begin the Rob DiLoreto Era all over again, and it should be another fun successful ride for longtime Everett football fans.